1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a do-it yourself cigarette maker and component assemblies, such as, e.g., a conveying device for cigarettes or tubes fitted with a lifting device, a device for shaping a tobacco rod fitted with a plucking roller, a tobacco rod conveyor fitted with a spring tappet, and a tube-aligning device with a narrowable slit for introducing the tube.
Do-it-yourself cigarette makers are known, for example, as small manual fillers, in which a plug of tobacco is inserted into an externally mounted tube by means of a pusher. Such small devices require a relatively high manual input, and thus a relatively long production time when several cigarettes need to be made. In addition, the quality of the cigarettes made greatly depends on the manual skill of the producer, with the result that rejects are produced quite often.
2. Description of Related Art
To get round these problems, automated cigarette fillers have been proposed, as are known for example from DE 33 43 500 C2, and which automate do-it-yourself production as far as possible. Such automated cigarette fillers are known from DE 33 47 966 C2, DE 33 47 967 C2, DE 33 47 968 C2 as well as from DE 32 47 370 A1 and EP 0 144 060 B1.
As regards metering the tobacco, the above-cited prior art in each case uses a funnel, below which a size-reduction or conveying means is arranged. These size-reduction or conveying means comprise, for example, singled or paired knife or pin shafts which, disadvantageously, heavily load and shred the long-fiber filling tobacco. Known from DE 425 478 is a cigarette filler comprising several spike-toothed rollers, the first of which is arranged directly below a totally enclosed funnel mount.
As regards tube feeding, the cited prior art regularly proposes either allowing the tubes to drop from an inclined plane into a receptacle, from which they are then transported axially to a receiving cone, or to use a picker to take the tubes out of a tube hopper, which is swiveled to thereby pass on the empty tube. Since empty tubes are easily deformed and cannot always be arranged singly in parallel in a tube hopper arranged inclined, disadvantageously, in both of the tube conveyors cited in prior art, it cannot always be assured that only a non-deformed tube is passed on. Singling the tubes in the non-deformed condition, and thus a frictionless operation, can thus not be assured since even the slightest disorientation or jamming resulting from tube deformation will result in the empty tube section being trapped, and forced downtime occurring. In addition, the tubes must always be conveyed axially in order to be placed with their open face ends on a conical means. This may result in damage to the tube. DE 241 698 proposes to swivel the hopper bottom, hinged on one side upwards, in order to lift a cigarette tube from a tube hopper; this requiring particularly complicated means to be arranged for singling the tubes.
In order to insert a pre-shaped tobacco rod into an empty tube, tappets in accordance with the prior art are used which, as proposed, for example, in EP 0 144 060, comprise at their front end an insertion aid (shingled scoop). Disadvantageously, the scoop in accordance with the cited European patent is arranged rigidly at the front end of the tappet, with the result that it obstructs the expansion of the tobacco as long as it is located in the tube together with the tobacco rod When operating entirely without any insertion aid, it is difficult to insert a tobacco rod with axial homogenous packing density into the tube, since a relatively random compression materializes lengthwise during this operation. Known from German laid-open patent publication 22 09 862 is a manual cigarette filler comprising a pusher and a plunger, which pushes a plug of tobacco and a filter in a predetermined sequence. German patent 93 17 497 U1 describes a do-it-yourself cigarette maker, comprising a bore with a co-axially arranged guide rod for receiving a cigarette tube.
It is an object of the present invention to improve a do-it-yourself cigarette maker or the component assemblies thereof so that the above-cited disadvantages of the prior art are obviated as far as possible.
In this connection, at least part of the object of the present invention is to provide a tube or cigarette conveyor for such a do-it-yourself cigarette maker, which reliably singles the tubes and supplies them, as non-deformed as possible, to the filling procedure.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a tobacco rod shaping device which permits gentle treatment of the long-fiber filling tobacco.
It is furthermore an object of the present invention to provide a tobacco rod conveyor for a do-it-yourself cigarette maker which does not obstruct expansion of the tobacco in the cigarette tube after insertion and ensures that cigarettes materialize with a homogenous package density.
The invention is furthermore intended to provide a tube-aligning device or straightener with which deformed cigarette tubes can be simply and reliably restored into a condition suitable for further processing.
Finally, the present invention is further intended to provide a do-it-yourself cigarette maker which overcomes the cited disadvantages of the prior art.
The cited objects of the present invention are achieved by the subject matters of the independent claims, the sub-claims describe advantageous embodiments of the invention.
A tube or cigarette conveyor for a do-it-yourself cigarette maker in accordance with the invention comprises the following elements:
a tube hopper for receiving a supply of empty cigarette tubes,
a discharge device for a tube to be filled with a tobacco material,
a holder mechanism for holding the tube during the filling operation, and
a cigarette hopper for receiving the filled cigarettes.
In this arrangement, the discharge device in accordance with the present invention is a lifting device which raises a tube from below out of the tube hopper, the lifting device comprising a pusher, the top edge of which has a longitudinal recess [a lower forming member or lower format].
The advantage of this tube or cigarette conveyor is, more particularly, that by lifting the tube from a hopper in which the tubes are normally located loosely stacked, no strain materializes which could result in deformations obstructing production. The other tubes, located above the tube being lifted out from the tube hopper, simply slide down from the tube to be lifted out and are unable to create any permanent deformations due to their own light weight.
The pusher in the tube hopper is preferably arranged so that the longitudinal recess in the lowered condition forms part of the bottom at the lowest point of the tube hopper. In this point of the tube hopper, usually only one cigarette tube is located for xe2x80x9cdropping intoxe2x80x9d the longitudinal recess in the lowered condition. The longitudinal recess surrounds the tube from underneath without exerting any deforming forces. This ensures that, when the pusher is raised, the tube comes upwards without being damaged, and more particularly that only one tube is arranged in the longitudinal recess. In particular, when relatively few tubes are located in the tube hopper, this arrangement ensures that, subsequent to raising of the tube, this as the sole non-distorted tube, is transported to and held positively at the position where it is to be filled with tobacco.
Preferably, the pusher can be arranged at a straight wall of the tube hopper, along which it is raised, deflectors being arranged at the upper part of the wall which are capable of returning all raised tubes back into the tube hopper with the exception of the one located in the recess of the pusher.
The advantage of this embodiment is particularly evident when a large number of tubes are present in the tube hopper. When the pusher is raised, the straight wall of the tube hopper forms a stable support for the tube located on the longitudinal recess. Any other tubes which may be located thereon are deflected when the upper edge of the pusher is run into the upper portion of the wall. This ensures that even when the tube hopper is full, tube singling is still easily possible.
The deflectors may comprise at least one, but preferably two, pivot clips oriented transversely to the longitudinal recess of the pusher and, when the pusher is raised, initially come to rest on the raised tube, while, upon further raising, they slide past the tube into slots in the pusher so that they are located underneath the tube and transport the filled cigarette into the cigarette hopper upon lowering of the pusher. In such a way, the deflectors can be simultaneously used as a mechanism for further conveying the filled cigarette by lifting it from the longitudinal recess when the pusher is lowered so that the cigarette automatically drops into the cigarette hopper.
In an embodiment described above, the clips are preferably arranged on a common pivoting axis and are pre-tensioned in the direction of rotation by means of a lever weight so that, upon raising of the tube, their middle sections initially lightly press on the tube, while their front sections deflect further tubes. Advantageously, one of the clips comes to lie on the filter of a filter tube, where the force produced by the lever weight permits no deformation of the cigarette. Due to the connection of both clips on a single pivoting axis, the other clip will also not deform the empty cigarette paper of the tube in this condition.
In an embodiment of the tube or cigarette conveyor in accordance with the invention, the means for holding the tube during the filling procedure comprises a recessed surrounding section or upper forming member, also termed upper format, which at least partly surrounds the tube or cigarette from above. The longitudinal recess of the pusher [lower forming member], in the raised condition, together with the recessed upper forming member of the holder means may substantially completely surround the tube during the filling procedure.
In accordance with the invention, after raising of the pusher, the cigarette tube is held in place by an external surrounding member during the filling procedure, i.e., it is no longer necessary to raise the tube axially to a conical nozzle by means of a shifting mechanism, as is done in the prior art. Advantageously, this removes the axial movement requirement and, in addition, the risk of the tube being deformed by such a movement can be eliminated. Due to the surrounding hold in the holder mechanism, already deformed tubes may be gently restored to their circular shape.
In another preferred embodiment, the holder mechanism comprises sensors, more particularly a photocell, which detects the presence of a tube or cigarette or the empty condition of the holder mechanism. This thus provides a control mechanism which ensures that no further tube is introduced into the holder until the produced cigarette has been ejected.
In a further embodiment of the tube or cigarette conveyor in accordance with the invention, the tube hopper and/or the cigarette hopper are configured as drawers, in particular the bottom of which is configured latticed. Since the dropping of tobacco remnants into the tube hopper or cigarette hopper cannot always be avoided, these are best maintained free of such tobacco remnants by arranging for the remnants to simply drop through the bottom. This is possible when the bottom is configured latticed, for example as a wire lattice. When a removable catchment vessel is provided below the tube hopper and/or cigarette hopper, the tobacco falling through can be easily eliminated.
Configuring the tube or cigarette hopper as a drawer facilitates inserting the tubes and removing the cigarettes.
A tobacco rod shaping mechanism in accordance with the invention, which can be provided in particular for a do-it-yourself cigarette maker, comprises the following components:
a funnel-shaped tobacco material infeed section
a singling device for the tobacco material, and
a tobacco rod compression mechanism.
The singling device, in this arrangement, is a roller, partly surrounded by a housing, with a plucking mechanism arranged at the circumference of the roller. In particular, a plucking roller with plucking pins, is used to convey the tobacco material into the tobacco rod compression mechanism. Formed between the housing and the roller is a gap through which the tobacco, plucked from the funnel-shaped section, is introduced into the compression mechanism. Advantageously, this plucking action ensures gentle treatment of the tobacco, i.e. the long-fiber filling tobacco is not excessively pulled to pieces and reduced in size as in prior art (knife rollers). This has a positive effect on the filling capacity of the tobacco.
In accordance with the invention, the funnel-shaped infeed section comprises at least one wall section oriented radially to the roller axis, more particularly one wall section being pivot-mounted so that it can be pivoted out of the way of the roller from a secured working position. At the wall section radially joined to the roller, the tobacco can be well plucked out in the funnel-shaped infeed section. When a wall section can be pivoted out of the way, excess tobacco materializing, for example after a number of cigarettes have been produced, can be removed directly from underneath the roller, it preferably being allowed to drop into a removable catchment means.
In accordance with an advantageous embodiment, the tobacco rod compression mechanism comprises a tobacco chamber, which can be opened up and closed from at least one side, the travelling side part of the chamber preferably being shifted by means of a cam from the opened into the closed position against a spring preload, and the opening width of the chamber is preferably settable by means of a positioner.
The wall sections, surrounding the tobacco rod to be shaped, are advantageously provided in accordance with the invention with an anti-stick coating facilitating the ejection of the tobacco from the tobacco chamber.
The roller may be inserted removable, it preferably furthermore being made of a material resistant to corrosion, for example aluminum, with an AlO2 surface finish.
The tobacco rod conveyor for a do-it-yourself cigarette maker in accordance with the invention comprises a tappet, which can be drawn in and out of a chamber containing a tobacco rod. The tappet has an outer tube in which, in turn, a guide rod may run, the guide rod comprising at its front end an insertion aid for the tobacco material. This configuration has the advantage that the insertion aid at the guide rod can be retracted into the tubular tappet while the tobacco is already in the cigarette tube, the outer tube, at the same time, still being in contact with the tip of the cigarette. In this condition, the tobacco, which is compressed in the tobacco compression chamber to a diameter somewhat smaller than the inner diameter of the cigarette tube, is able to implement an expansion action, which is not obstructed by the insertion aid. The open tip of the cigarette is closed off by the face end of the outer tube to achieve a homogenous distribution of the tobacco in the cigarette which is then compacted on all sides substantially to the same degree. As the insertion aid is retracted from the outer tube in contact with the tube at the tobacco end, remnants of tobacco are also prevented from being removed from the cigarette upon extension of the insertion aid.
In an embodiment of one such tobacco rod conveyor, the guide rod may comprise an appendage at its rear end by which it can be withdrawn from the outer tube in overcoming the pressure of a spring provided at the outer tube, the insertion aid for the tobacco material thereby entering the outer tube. When, in such a configuration, the guide rod is retracted after the cigarette tube has been filled, the outer tube, when suitably blocked, initially remains in contact with the front end of the cigarette. To then also remove the outer tube from the cigarette, all that needs to be done is to release the blocking action so that the outer tube snaps back, i.e. there is no need to move the cigarette tube or the filled cigarette during the filling procedure and until after its completion.
An insertion aid used in accordance with the invention has substantially the length of the tobacco rod and is shaped so as to assist pushing of the tobacco rod only in the conveying direction. It may be configured, for example, as a blade, toothed in one direction, or as a shingled scoop.
As regards blocking the outer tube to advantage in the position at the open end of the cigarette, which has been already mentioned, one advantageous configuration consists of the tappet being shifted back and forth at its rear end by means of an eccentric drive, preferably, a support engaging with the eccentric drive, in particular a retaining lever, holding the outer tube in position upon removal of the guide rod after conveyance of the tobacco rod.
The tube-aligning device or straightener in accordance with the invention, which in particular may be provided in a do-it-yourself cigarette maker, comprises a receiving element for the tube, which consists of a circular gap between a housing and a mandrel secured in the housing. The circular gap comprises substantially the axial length of a cigarette tube and at the insertion end a device is provided with which the circular gap can be constricted. By constricting the circular gap subsequent to insertion of a deformed cigarette tube, a smoothing effect is achieved when this tube is pulled out again, meaning that cigarette tubes, thus treated, are directly suitable for reuse in cigarette making. Advantageously, straightening the tubes in this way can be implemented by very few handholds.
In a preferred embodiment of the tube-aligning device, the constricting device comprises a clamping screw, for screwing to the insertion end, as well as collets, arranged between mandrel and housing, the gap between the collets and the mandrel being constricted by turning the clamping screw.
In the region of the collets, an O-ring may be provided around the mandrel, at which preferably also an adapter ring is located for fixing. In an arrangement such as this, infeeding the tubes into the tube-aligning device is facilitated by centering the O-ring by means of the adapter ring.
Furthermore, a do-it-yourself cigarette maker in accordance with the invention comprises one or more of the component assemblies described above, namely a tube or cigarette conveyor, a tobacco rod forming means, a tobacco rod conveyor and a tube-aligning device, thus achieving the above-described advantages linked with each of these component assemblies.
Furthermore, the do-it-yourself cigarette maker may comprise motors, in particular electric motors for the components to be driven, as well as a preferably electronic sequence control which, with the aid of sensors, monitors and regulates the operating condition in each case and in particular provides an external indication thereof by display means.
The tappet of the tobacco conveyor, the tobacco compression chamber, the tobacco rod shaping means and the tube holding means, for holding the tube during the filling procedure, are all arranged in line in a do-it-yourself cigarette maker in accordance with the invention, these components being configured so that, upon removal of the tappet, a through hole exists in this line. Such a through hole facilitates cleaning the apparatus in the region of the tobacco chamber, for this purpose, an elongated brush or a device similar to a pipe cleaner can be pushed through.